Kottayam Pushpanath
- Writer
Kottayam Pushpanath is an Indian author who took the imagination of hundreds of thousands of his avid readers to dizzy heights and played a crucial role in making reading a national pastime. The litterateur has penned more than 300 popular volumes of cliffhangers. He had started writing even as a school student and continued his writing career even after he joined the Education Department as a teacher. His breakthrough came in the late 1960s when his detective novel Chuvanna Manushyan got serialized in the popular Malayalam weekly Manorajyam, which was published from Kottayam, Kerala. But that was only the beginning. The author penning up to 11 serials at a time in popular publications of Kerala. Along with his popularity, two of his protagonists too became famous - Detective Marxin, who usually handled crimes outside India, and Pushparaj, who was one of the most sought-after private detectives in India. He also created another popular character, detective Sudheer. While the 1960s and 70s were dominated by detective and horror novels penned by him, by the mid-seventies and eighties Kottayam Pushpanath moved towards magical novels. Many of his novels had been translated to Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, and Telugu. He had also translated Bram Stoker's Dracula and Sherlock Holmes series. Two of his novels, Chuvanna Anki and Bhramarakshass had been made into movies. Kottayam Pushpanath was born Pushpanathan Pillai (Zacharia) in Kottayam district in Kerala, on May 14, 1937, to Sathyanesan Pillai and Rachel. He completed his primary and secondary education from Good Shepherd School and MT Seminary School in Kottayam and he graduated in History from the University of Kerala. After finishing TTC from Cambridge Nicholson Institute (CNI) Kottayam, he started his career as a teacher in Kodiyathoor School in Kozhikode. Later he served as a teacher of History in different Government schools in Kallarkutty, Devikulam, Karapuzha, Nattakom, and Kottayam Medical college school.
As a student at the MT Seminary school, Pushpanath wrote a short story " Thiramala" ( Waves) for the school magazine, announcing his entry into the world of writing. He released his first novel named Chuvanna Manushyan in 1968 which was a scientific thriller. Later on, he penned down more than 350 works including mainstream novels, science fiction, and horror fiction during the period of 1970s and 80s
His grandson Rayan Pushpanath, founder of Kottayam Pushpanath Publications has received the royalty of Pushpanath's every work.
As a student at the MT Seminary school, Pushpanath wrote a short story " Thiramala" ( Waves) for the school magazine, announcing his entry into the world of writing. He released his first novel named Chuvanna Manushyan in 1968 which was a scientific thriller. Later on, he penned down more than 350 works including mainstream novels, science fiction, and horror fiction during the period of 1970s and 80s
His grandson Rayan Pushpanath, founder of Kottayam Pushpanath Publications has received the royalty of Pushpanath's every work.